Given name & surname
France
“woman from France; one who is free”·“a man from France; one who is free”
In English use, France has a related form in Frances. In Latin use, Frances carries the interpretation “woman from France; one who is free.” In English use, France is a short form of Francis. One Latin interpretation is “a man from France; one who is free.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
In English use, France has a related form in Frances. In Latin use, Frances carries the interpretation “woman from France; one who is free.” In English use, France is a short form of Francis. One Latin interpretation is “a man from France; one who is free.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
In English use, France is a short form of Francis. An origin associated with Francis is Italian.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
France is a short form of Francis.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1894. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
France through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 1,538
- 379 boys · 1,159 girls
- Most popular year
- 1918
- 74 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 5 in 2021. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for boys was 39 in 1918. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 2,043 as a first name in 2020; 11,343 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
France’s family of names
France is a short form of Francis. In French usage, France has a later derivative in Pháp. In English usage, France has a related form in Frances.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
France has relatives in 6 languages.
7 related names in 6 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 3
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 4
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 8
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named France
- France PrešerenSlovene national poet, a Carniolan Romantic poet of Slovene descent (1800–1849)
- Yusuf al-QaradawiEgyptian Islamic theologian based in Doha, Qatar (1926-2022)
- Youssouf FofanaFrench footballer (born 1999)
- France-Albert RenéPresident of Seychelles (1935-2019)
- Youssouf SabalySenegalese and French footballerborn 1993
- Youssouf KonéMalian association football playerborn 1995
- France BevkSlovene writer (1890-1970)
- France NuyenFrench actressborn 1939
- Youssouf M'Changamaassociation football playerborn 1990
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love France, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Fannie
“woman from France; one who is free”
>99% girls
Grayce
Grayce is a variant of Grace. As a name, Grace carries the word’s association with divine favour. Grace’s meaning comes from a vocabulary word rather than a compound of older personal names.
>99% girls
Freda
“a peaceful ruler” · “peaceful friend”
>99% girls
Fae
Fae is used as a given name and a surname. Fae is connected with Fay.
>99% girls
Blanche
“beautiful”
>99% girls
Fanny
“French” · “garland”
>99% girls
Frieda
“a peaceful ruler”
>99% girls
Aline
“one who pays homage to Ireland”
>99% girls